Archives for 2022

DOHA: The next World Cup will be the biggest ever after world soccer body FIFA took the leap from a 32-team field to 48 teams in 2026.

It means more of football’s so-called “little teams” that didn’t make it to Qatar will be given a chance of a lifetime when the tournament is hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

That could be great news for everyone who was entertained by Saudi Arabia’s stirring upset of Lionel Messi’s Argentina at this World Cup, Japan’s two wins over former champions Germany and Spain or Morocco’s humbling of star-studded Belgium and Spain on its way to an unexpected quarterfinal run. More surprises surely await in four years.

Still, it’s not clear to everyone that bigger is better.

While 48 teams might increase the chances of fairytale moments such as Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win over Argentina in the group stage, there’s also a good chance of the opposite: more one-sided games that may take some of the shine off a tournament that is meant to be the best vs. the best.

Spain 7, Costa Rica 0 also happened at this World Cup. As did England’s 6-2 rout of Iran, France’s 4-1 dismantling of Australia and Qatar becoming the first host country to lose its three group stage matches. FIFA will need to dig even deeper into the lower levels of international football to get from 32 to 48.

“It means that we will have to find 16 more good teams,” said Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development and a central figure in making a 48-team World Cup workable.

FIFA is still promoting the expansion as an upgrade and good for the global game. All continents will have more slots and FIFA says opening soccer’s marquee event to more of its 211 member countries or territories should have an impact beyond the teams, with the prospect of even more eyes on TV screens and more kids inspired to kick balls across the globe.

“I am convinced that if the teams, the countries have more opportunities to go to the world stage, it will do more for (soccer) development inside that country,” Wenger said.

Qatar’s World Cup is the first in the Middle East and the furthest FIFA has ventured from the game’s heartlands in Europe and South America. That decision has provoked its own harsh criticism but the on-field action might have been a timely advert for the 48-team plan, which FIFA announced in 2017 and has had to defend ever since over doubts about what the exact format will be.

FIFA initially indicated it would be 16 groups of three teams, but that idea was widely criticized. Another option could be 12 groups of four teams. Wenger said FIFA’s decision-making council has not decided yet.

In Qatar, Japan was one of three Asian teams to qualify for the last 16, which had never happened before. African teams collected more points in the group stage than ever. Morocco topped a group containing 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia and semifinalist Belgium and advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Spain on penalties on Tuesday. Cameroon signed off by beating Brazil, the first time an African team has conquered the five-time champion and soccer’s most celebrated team at a World Cup.

“Just look at how the World Cup is unfolding,” said Senegal coach Aliou Cisse. “It’s not like 30 years ago when the big fish were completely eating the little fish alive.”

Amid Japan’s run in Qatar, winger Takefusa Kubo said “they can’t underestimate Asia.” Ghana coach Otto Addo said Africa deserves its extra places and its teams now have a better chance of going further.
However, the expansion may not have much of an impact on the final outcome of the World Cup.

European and South American teams — the big fish Cisse referred to — have gobbled up every one of the 21 World Cup titles so far, with 12 for Europe and nine for South America. No teams from another continent have made a final in nearly 100 years of World Cup history. Eighty-two out of 84 semifinalists have been European or South American. The United States in 1930 and South Korea in 2002 are the exceptions.

In Qatar, while teams from outside Europe and South America did well in the group stage, only Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals, where it will face Portugal on Saturday. South Korea, Japan, Senegal, the United States and Australia were all eliminated in the round of 16.

Cisse’s Senegal are the African champions but were outclassed 3-0 by England. South Korea, ranked No. 3 in Asia, was knocked out 4-1 by Brazil. South Korea forward Son Heung-min, his country’s one star, said almost in envy: “Look at their players.”

A bigger World Cup does offer clear advancement opportunities for FIFA, though.

Just over 3.5 billion people, more than half the world’s population, watched the 2018 World Cup in Russia, according to FIFA, and the soccer body earned record revenues of $7.5 billion from commercial deals tied to the Qatar World Cup.

With those numbers in the bank from a 32-team tournament, 48 offers the obvious chance to sell World Cup aspirations to more people in more places.

The only significance June 13, 2014 holds for world football is that the 2014 FIFA World Cup began that day in Brazil. For a number of Croatian footballers though, it features the start of a journey that will come full circle when Croatia face Brazil on Friday. 

When Brazil kicked off a home World Cup with a routine 3-1 win against Croatia that day, the latter were but an afterthought. Yet looking back, it was the initiation of a number of members from Croatia’s second golden generation to World Cup football. Starting that day was Luka Modric, who had made the squad when Croatia last qualified for the World Cup in 2006, but had not started a game.

Also in the starters’ list were Ivan Perisic. who scored their only goal against Japan on Monday, Dejan Lovren and Mateo Kovacic. Another starter from Monday Marcelo Brozovic was on the bench while Domagoj Vida was an unused substitute in both matches. 

With the exception of Kovacic somehow, still only 28 every other name from that list will be playing the World Cup for the last time. And the journey in between, when they took Croatia from group stage also-rans to a serious threat to any team in the tournament, has been memorable. 

The highlight, of course, will always be that improbable run to the final of the 2018 edition, when they wore down opponents by taking every knockout game they played beyond regulation time. After two penalty shootout victories and an extra time winner over England, they fell in the final to an imperious France. Their penalty shootout victory against Japan one of the fittest teams of this tournament showed that their reputation for wearing down opponents over two hours is still intact. Brazil would do well to be weary.

Regardless of when their World Cup journey ends, this generation will have redefined what football means to Croatia. Football has always been part of the nation’s psyche the popular legend goes that the Yugoslav wars that birthed the modern Croatian state started with a particularly violent and riot-filled match between the Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb and the Serbian Red Star Belgrade.

Then, in 1998, the newly-formed nation, still finding its place in the world, celebrated with pride as the Croatian side led by Zvonimir Boban and Davor Suker reached the semifinals of the World Cup in France.

That 1998 side is the only competition that this generation faces in the debate over their place in history. “In terms of achievements, both the semi-final in 1998 and the final in 2018 were more than unexpected,” says Dario Brentin, a researcher in sports and politics in the Balkans.

“And both were celebrated equally in Croatia. Arguably, Croatia was politically in a much more difficult political situation compared to 2018 and hence that semi-final had additional political weight. On the other hand, a final is a final, so one could say simply by the fact of taking one step further that the 2018 generation usurped the 1998 generation in the overall hierarchy of Croatian sporting successes.”

One thing is unquestionable though. The current crop has influenced the notion of Croatian national identity every bit as much as that 1998 side. “Unquestionably both events influenced Croatian national identity and have become central in the way Croatians talk about themselves and their country,” says Brentin.

“It has become one of the sacred centres of society and whilst the generation of 1998 might have been instrumental in the establishment of that narrative, the generation of 2018 has made sure that this narrative will remain of significance for the foreseeable future.”

Of course, this debate could very well be set to rest by the time Qatar bids goodbye to the World Cup. All the Croatians need to do is extra-time their way to three more victories. 

DOHA: Goncalo Ramos justified the shock decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring a hat-trick on his full debut as Portugal demolished Switzerland 6-1 on Tuesday to power into the World Cup quarter-finals.

The 21-year-old Ramos, who started instead of Ronaldo, became the youngest player to strike three times in a World Cup knockout match since Pele in 1958.

Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro and Rafael Leao were also on target for a rampant Portugal, who booked a showdown with Morocco on Saturday for a place in the last four in Qatar.

Ronaldo, 37 and now without a club after his departure from Manchester United, has hogged the headlines during the tournament while looking a shadow of his former self.

The only man to score at five World Cups, Ronaldo was left out by coach Fernando Santos against the Swiss following his angry response to being substituted in the last group game.

It was a bold call to omit a player with a record 118 international goals in favour of giving a full debut to Ramos, the Benfica striker who had played just 33 minutes across three previous appearances.

But it took just 17 minutes for Ramos to reward Santos’ faith, and to achieve something Ronaldo has never done — score in a World Cup knockout game.

Joao Felix clipped delicately into the feet of Ramos, who quickly swivelled past Fabian Schaer and rifled into the roof of the net past a stunned Yann Sommer.

Otavio, who returned to the Portugal midfield after injury in their opening match, shot straight at Sommer before Ramos did likewise moments later.

Xherdan Shaqiri drew a fingertip stop from Diogo Costa with a dipping free-kick from distance, but Portugal soon had their second.

Bruno Fernandes whipped in a corner and the 39-year-old Pepe towered above the Swiss defence to powerfully head home.

Diogo Dalot hacked Remo Freuler’s header off the line after Diogo Costa failed to properly deal with a cross, but the Swiss simply had no answers against an irresistible Portugal.

Ramos turned in his second from close range six minutes into the second half from Dalot’s cross down the right.

He then turned provider by playing in Guerreiro to lash in another just four minutes later as the Swiss defence was ruthlessly ripped apart.

It was also Ramos who inadvertently glanced a corner towards Manuel Akanji at the far post as the Manchester City centre-back pulled one back for Switzerland.

Ramos completed his treble after more outstanding work from Felix, nonchalantly dinking over Sommer with one of his final touches before making way for Ronaldo.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s introduced elicited the biggest roar of the night. Ronaldo did have the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled out for a clear offside.

Leao capped off a sensational Portugal performance with a terrific curling strike in stoppage time.